


Restart

by HopelessMasquerade



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Bad English, Chronic Illness, Gen, Gift Exchange, a bit of angst, gom/kuroko kinda, hints of AoKuro / AkaKuro / KagaKuro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 16:17:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5592835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopelessMasquerade/pseuds/HopelessMasquerade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko claims that he's alright and that it isn't important, but his teammates don't think the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Restart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Silent_and_Courious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silent_and_Courious/gifts).



> It was shorter than I expected ;; sorry if it's a bit rushed.
> 
> Secret Santa gift for battlingillusions, I hope this is what you wanted.

When it happened, he was hanging out with Aomine and Momoi. That overwhelming feeling soon began to take over his mind, one of the strongest migraines he'd had so far, and his legs felt heavy, as if a rock had been attached to them. Eyes turning blank and he hesitates as Aomine talks nonsense, almost ignoring him.

Skin turns paler than usual and Momoi turns to him, somewhat concerned, tilting her head. Aomine keeps talking yet he knows there's something wrong with Kuroko, and when his breathing intensifies, feeling dizzy, he stops talking.

-Tetsu - a worried Aomine asks, eyebrows frowned and he grabbed his friends' shoulder, slightly shaking him -, something wrong?

Kuroko's gaze was lost, unable to find itself, and the boy couldn't fix his eyes on his friends. It was happening for the first time in front of them, and Momoi thought about calling an ambulance, which Aomine thought would be exaggerated. But then again, Aomine had no idea about what was happening to his friend now. He thought it was a small anxiety attack, that perhaps Kuroko hadn't endured practice that well.

Trying to ignore his migraine, Kuroko slightly raised his head, grabbing his vanilla shake and looking at his friends. Momoi was at the verge of tears, hoping it wasn't anything severe, praying for Kuroko to recover, and Aomine just had no clue on what to do. He'd never seen Kuroko like that before.

-...It's fine, Aomine-kun, Momoi-san. It's just a headache.

Momoi sighed in relief, wiping away small tears that had formed on her eyes and smiled at him, while Aomine cackled and offered him a hamburger, claiming that things like that wouldn't happen again if he ate some more. Kuroko had to follow them, even though they weren't any suspicious about him.

But Kuroko didn't want to reveal anything concerning his illness. Not until he felt ready to do so. Momoi would probably burst into tears, hoping they'd be friends forever and repeatedly telling him not to leave them, and Kuroko would just pat her back and caress her hair, probably telling her that she was exaggerating as usual.

He doubted on Aomine's reaction, though, as Aomine was half-joking most of the time and he didn't take many things seriously. But, if it had to do with an illness that had been chasing Kuroko since his childhood, he'd totally be supportive towards his friend.

···

Joining the basketball team's first string (thanks to Akashi Seijuro) didn't help at all. Kuroko was a good student, barely struggling with exams and with average grades, yet he wasn't exactly athletic. He didn't like scrapping things and enjoyed going at his own pace (which was rather slow), taking small breaks between work.

But it wouldn't be the same at Teiko's basketball club. Practice was almost like Hell itself, and the very first day he began, Kuroko was already puking and almost passed out. It was worse when he came home, dizzy, confused, his entire body hurt and he didn't feel like moving at all. Instead of throwing himself at the sofa, he passed out right when he arrived at the living room, and his mother had no idea on what to do. It'd happened many times before but they've never seen Kuroko so exhausted until that day.

The first strings' practice schedule wasn't doing any good either, and not even 10 minutes in and Kuroko had already passed out. He kept practising, however, with a strong headache and dizziness that almost prevented him from executing his passes, but it didn't forbid him from falling over after 20 minutes.

-I knew this would happen - sighed Midorima, lifting up his glasses as Aomine ran towards his friend, and Akashi walked up to the green-haired boy. - Do you perhaps know anything, Akashi?

-To be honest, Midorima, I think this may be more than just a headache. You probably haven't noticed, but his legs had been shaking since he woke up, and he hasn't been able to control his passes like he usually does - Midorima frowned upon him, and Nijimura had just arrived at Kuroko's spot when he woke up. - While it doesn't seem serious, it might be useful if Kuroko told us about it. We'll need him at his best capacity for upcoming matches.

For Midorima, it felt like as if Akashi cared more about matches than his whole team, when Akashi was actually concerned about Kuroko's health. Aomine had previously reported to him what happened at Maji Burger the other day, and Akashi still had to do some research.

Meanwhile, Murasakibara wasn't concerned about this. He'd initially thought that yes, Kuroko was a weakling, and it didn't surprise him that he kept falling over and over during practice, but fainting? Perhaps Kuroko's stamina was as low as he thought it was, or perhaps Akashi was right, and there was actually something wrong with him.

After taking Kuroko to the infirmary, Nijimura pouted, basketball in hand and a tired expression all over his face, and placed himself in front of the team, clapping his hands, thus getting the whole team to look at him.

-Coach, if you let me... - Their coach, Sanada, gave him permission and they both turned to the team. Aomine still seemed worried, even willing to stop practising for a moment to attend his friend, and Akashi still wondered about what could be wrong with him. - Alright, you guys keep training. I'll see what's wrong with this kid.

···

It kept happening over and over, and Kuroko still replied with poorly made-up excuses. He didn't want anyone to worry about him, yet he was getting the exact opposite effect. A concerned Momoi couldn't help but stare at his blank, half-dead eyes and bags under them, as he was unable to get any sleep during the last week. He still attended practice, still fell over and even fainted sometimes, yet he chose to not say anything about his illness.

Both Akashi and Aomine still suspected about him, and it was even worse when their first official match. Kuroko wasn't in his best condition; almost none of his passes made it and it was fairly easy to steal from him. The Teiko team had to rely on Nijimura to win, and they barely made it by 2 points, thanks to one of Midorima's three pointers.

Aquarius had ranked poorly at Oha Asa's ranking that day, on the 11th place, and Midorima had thought about buying Kuroko's lucky item so it could help improve his luck. It wasn't just that, however.

-Akashi - he muttered, gently cleaning the piano's keys as the red-haired boy watched him, typing things down on his notebook -, have you been researching?

-I've been writing down any symptoms I've seen on Kuroko, yet I'm unable to find a condition that matches all of them - he places aside his pencil and fixes his gaze on the notebook, and Midorima turns to him. - Sudden blackouts for no reason, dizziness, weakened bones, specially his tibia and knees, fatigue, and strong migraines. That's everything I've noticed on him. I've come to the conclusion that perhaps it may be hypotension, but I'm still not sure.

-Anything else?

Akashi stood up, closing his notebook and picking up his pencil, lowered crimson eyes and a firm stance. Midorima still hadn't finished cleaning up his piano, but Akashi wouldn't wait for him to do so, as he had to take care of personal issues.

The smaller boy turns to Midorima, vanished smile and cold crimson eyes, a scheming expression overall, and his expression softens.

-Nothing else. We should keep an eye on him, though. Because we'll need Kuroko on his best condition; not just as a player, but as a person.

Words slowly vanish in the rooms' atmosphere and he exits the room gracefully, not making any noise, leaving a slightly concerned Midorima behind him. He wants to help, too, but he's too focused on his studies to do anything. Plus, his relationship with Kuroko isn't the best. Even so, he's concerned too about Kuroko's health.

···

After Kise joined their little group, it drew a smile on Kuroko's face. Sure, Kise hadn't taken him seriously at the beginning, often wondering why he'd ended up with such a midget.

But Kuroko was far more than just a weak midget. He was determination, he was the will that made him join the first string. He was a ghost, and he was the strength that made him push forward even if his condition forbid him from even stepping out of bed. Kuroko was that, and even more. Kise learned all of this almost forcefully, and so Kuroko began to grow on him, to the point he became the annoying blonde we all know.

Kuroko enjoyed watching as he improved day by day. He enjoyed those little one-on-one matches he played against Aomine, and, while annoying, he liked the way Kise treated him like.

The first day Kise saw Kuroko pass out in the middle of practice, he thought it was something severe. His teammates, while used to it, still attended Kuroko, bringing him to the infirmary and it would be the last time Nijimura would assist Kuroko. Nobody had told Kise about Kuroko's condition and he froze on his spot, wondering if he should do anything or just stand there, afraid he'd bother someone.

-K-Kurokocchi - he mumbled, walking up to Aomine, who looked more tense than usual. - Is Kurokocchi alright?

-I dunno, Kise. That shit's happened to him many times before and it has me worried. Akashi hasn't said anything, either, but that guy surely knows something about it. If anything - his expression didn't change at all, yet he managed to crack a smile at the blond -, he'll be fine. But, Tetsu hasn't said anything regarding that.

It was weird, because Kuroko wasn't one to hide things from his friends. If he was having a bad day, he would probably talk about it with either Aomine or Kise and usually they'd end up hanging together, was it with those two or with all the Miracles.

But Kuroko was hiding something bigger than a bad experience -an illness that had been chasing him since he was young-, and because he didn't want any of his friends to worry about him (specially Momoi), he didn't say anything, usually claiming that he was just tired.

Akashi still hadn't mentioned anything about Kuroko's condition, nor he'd researched enough to determine exactly what kind of illness he was carrying. Only Midorima knew about his theory, but, because of Akashi's doubts regarding it, he hadn't said anything either.

-But it isn't anything serious, right?

-I'm telling you, Kise - Aomine's expression shifts into a slightly angrier one and he picks a basketball from the floor, sighing. - Tetsu's fine. He's able to keep up with us during practice, so stop worrying that much, dammit.

A worried Kise stared as Nijimura and the others came back from the infirmary, willing to continue practising. Nijimura stated that Kuroko would be alright and that he would eventually wake up after 5 minutes or so, and patted Kise's shoulder, claiming that he shouldn't behave like that.

Like Akashi, Kise too wanted to ask Kuroko about his condition, and wanted to help as much as possible, regardless if Kuroko agreed with him or not.

···

-Kuroko - the red-haired boy muttered, placing his Biology book on the table, his crimson gaze set upon the smaller boy -, do you have a moment?

Kuroko spent most of his time at Teiko's library. He found it a quiet place, where he could relax and enjoy short novels, yet sometimes he chose to study instead if he noticed that his grades had dropped. Sometimes Aomine would join him, seeking advice from Kuroko, asking him questions he should've known from class.

While Akashi wasn't one to frequent the library (he spent most of his free time playing shogi against Midorima, or attending issues concerning the basketball team), he'd kept researching on Kuroko's condition and came to the conclusion that perhaps it was hypotension, as he thought. Meanwhile, Kuroko wouldn't reveal anything about it. Not even to his best friends, not even to Akashi.

-Akashi-kun.

-I won't bother you for too long, it's just a question-

But, after seeing the look in Kuroko's eyes -a tired, almost dead look, as if something had been bothering him lately-, Akashi chose to not ask anything. Their second year had barely began and Kuroko slowly got used to practice (and official) matches, and he truly had exceed Akashi's expectations. Specially after Akashi found out about his condition.

Raising his head, Kuroko picked up a small novel that belonged to him and looked back at Akashi. Despite Kuroko constantly stating that he was alright, Akashi still was willing to know about his condition, even if he couldn't help at all.

-...If you're interested, I can tell you.

-You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable, Kuroko - he nodded, joining his fingertips, showing a slightly serious stance, yet he wanted Kuroko to feel at ease. Because he didn't only want Kuroko to serve as their sixth man, but also wanted him to be healthy.

Unsure of what to do, Kuroko just stood up, making as little noise as possible, and Akashi had to admit that he felt bad after almost forcing him to speak. It wasn't something Akashi had felt before, specially towards someone whoses role in the team wasn't as important as it seemed to be.

-Akashi-kun - he muttered, and lowered his eyes upon Akashi, who had averted his gaze and was no longer gazing at Kuroko -, it won't make me uncomfortable, but please, don't tell Aomine-kun or Momoi-kun about this. It would really make me feel bad if they found out.

···

As usual, Akashi was right; Kuroko's condition was none other than hypotension. It had been chasing him since Junior High, but it didn't truly hit him until be joined Teiko. Which probably had to do with the incredibly high expectations everyone had about him since he joined that school.

Nijimura had left the team on Akashi's hands before suddenly moving to the United States, and while Akashi still was willing to follow their teams' motto, he'd try to focus on Kuroko's condition too, asking the teams' coach if Kuroko's schedule could soften up a little. The coach, of course, denied his request, claiming that it would be pointless if Kuroko didn't practice as much as the rest of the team.

···

Kuroko's experience at Teiko was rough. He already knew that Teiko's team would be as severe as none other was, but would've never expected it to even worsen his condition.

It wasn't only the fact that, no matter if he wanted or not, he had to practice as much as his teammates did. It wasn't just him, overworking himself so he could live up Akashi's and everyone's expectations, to the point he'd end up far more exhausted than he thought. It was more than all of that, more than a team composed mostly by 13-15 year olds being forced to win no matter what.

When his teammates slowly began to leave him, as they were too strong for themselves, claiming that Kuroko's passes were now useless and that he wasn't needed, Kuroko's mental state wasn't the only thing that worsened. Akashi no longer was the caring kid he used to talk with, and he no longer had dinner with Aomine at Maji's. He also made Momoi cry, by lying to her, stating that he was alright and that he and the Miracles still were friends.

Kuroko didn't feel alone. He _was_ alone. He saw his childhood friend, Ogiwara, cry after a terrifying defeat before the Teiko team, and thought it was his fault. He could've stopped the Miracles. He could've done something. He could've talked with Aomine and helped him through his depression.

He felt selfish, because he was far more worried about his illness than his teammates.

So he lied on his bed, small tears running down his cheeks, trying to survive the strongest migraine he'd have so far, his heart violently pounding against his chest, and he would pass out at any given moment. All he wanted was to fix the cracks that had shown up at Teiko's surface. He wanted to enjoy basketball once again, just like he did when he met Aomine two years ago.

···

One could easily tell the difference between Seirin's basketball team and Teiko's, and Kuroko was no exception. Aida Riko had easily noticed weird symptoms on Kuroko once he showed up at the gym, but he hadn't said anything on his application.

-If you're not feeling well, you can take longer breaks if you want. But there's a big difference between a small break and slacking off, you know.

Kuroko nodded at her, wiping some sweat from his forehead, and Kagami Taiga, that redhead that just arrived from America, suspected that there might be something wrong with him. He wasn't one to like weaklings, though, but if there really was something wrong with Kuroko, then he wasn't one to rant about it.

Kagami too had experienced how losing a friend (in his case, "brother") felt like.

So, when he and Kuroko met at a little court after practice, him willing to go 1-on-1 against a 'Miracle' (Kuroko wasn't aware that the Seirin team thought about him as one of the Miracles), Kagami was expecting a terribly close match, not a skinny boy suddenly fainting in the middle of a match.

···

When Kuroko woke up, Kagami thought that he'd made a wrong move, or that he'd probably been too harsh when playing against him. It wasn't the case. Kuroko's blank eyes slowly opened, and he tried to regain some stamina. Kagami thought about playing against Kuroko for the last time, however, he'd go easy on him this time.

After noticing Kuroko's gaze, however, baby blue eyes reflected again his burning eyes, Kagami knew that he had to chill.

Never once before he'd met someone like Kuroko. Someone that, instead of striving to be Japan's best basketball player, just chose to remain as Kagami's shadow, to make up for what he'd done to Aomine three years before. At first, Kagami thought that he was talking nonsense and was about to tell Kuroko to shut up.

But Kuroko's determination was strong, even stronger that his headaches and that his illness. He was perfectly aware of what he was doing when he asked Kagami to be his "light", and would've done so even if his condition stopped him before talking.

-So, when you fainted before... - Kagami couldn't take his eyes off Kuroko's child-like eyes, no matter what. He found them far more than fascinating. - If there's something wrong with you, kid, then you gotta say it. You really should tell coach about it.

-It's alright, I'm just exhausted.

-Then, you should just eat more food. All you eat is shakes, and I don't really think that's healthy - Kagami smirked at him, barely aware of his ongoing speech. - If y'want, tomorrow I'll order some hamburgers for you.

Kuroko would've made a harsh comment about Kagami and hamburgers, mentioning a certain tall redhead that literally had 8 hamburgers a while before, but he wasn't lying when he said that he was exhausted. His legs were trembling and a small migraine was about to unleash, but it wouldn't forbid him from walking home.

It had been just one day, but Kuroko already knew that Seirin's team wouldn't let him down.


End file.
